It’s somewhat staggering to learn that in their 60-day 1977 session, Utah legislators introduced 954 bills and resolutions and passed a total of 365 of them. This was a record in both categories. .Bills introduced exceeded by 145 the number in the general session two years ago. And the number that made it through both houses was 112 more than the 253 approved in the 1975 session. Possibly these soaring totals are indicative of the growing complexity of our society and of the demands of the public and effectiveness of the lobbies. Maybe they reflect growing need for “housekeeping” bills to adjust previous legislation, salaries, and whatnot. Still another reason for the volume of bills passed might be the present “consent calendar” onto which non-controversial bills are channeled and passed without debate even in committee, in many cases. The late Burton Adams of Pleasant Grove, a veteran legislator, used to say that one of the lawmaker’s most important functions is to defend against passage of poor bills and to see that measures with a cloud or question be overhauled or defeated. While we assume all 365 bills and resolutions passed this year had merit, it just mi ht be that more legislators neeg to adopt Mr. Adams’ philosophy. To us, the most challenging thought of all, in contemplating the large number of new measures is: How can the public best become knowledgeable on these new laws? It’s a hard question. The news media can help and we believe a good effort has been put forth. Soon the legislative research director is expected to come up with a detailed summary of what each bill does? Might it be a good idea for citizen groups – PTAS, civic clubs, schools, etc. to get copies and promulgate at least the measures of greatest importance? In any case, there’s a challenge here that the public should not ignore. .